


Three Little Words

by Sherlaufeyson



Category: British Actor RPF, British Comedy RPF, Horrible Histories RPF
Genre: Bathing/Washing, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 13:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14853908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherlaufeyson/pseuds/Sherlaufeyson
Summary: Ben's suffering from man-flu and Larry goes over to check up on him





	Three Little Words

**Author's Note:**

> These are fictional depictions of real people. None of this happened. Please don't sue me.

Ben Willbond was hunched over the Aegean mist coloured toilet bowl, feeling sorry for himself. Man-flu had swept through the entire cast, and he was simply the latest to fall victim. 

As he rested the side of his head on the porcelain basin next to him in the cramped bathroom, he momentarily fantasized about having enough energy to get to the living room to fetch a cushion for his knees. He really was too old for this, or at least far too invalided.

He faintly heard a knock at the door, but had no voice to throw either to invite the guest in or tell them to piss off. He relaxed when he recognized the unmistakable growl of Laurence Rickard calling for him with mild concern.

Ben managed to let out a fairly pathetic groan, alerting Larry to his location. 

“Oh Jesus Christ, are you alright mate?” Larry asked.

Ben just groaned in response, lowering his elbow to the toilet seat and holding his forehead in his hands.

Larry started talking, presumably to himself as he wandered through the house out of Ben’s eyesight. Ben caught fragments of sentences, most seeming to be casting aspersions on Ben’s basic levels of hygiene and self-care. 

Picturing the absolute tip that was the state of his living room, he supposed he couldn’t blame Larry for his assessment. As Larry’s voice came closer, he let out a self-pitying groan.

“Here, Ben. Try this.” Larry was gently nudging his knees with a cushion to encourage him to move onto it. 

“Thanks Larry,” he said. “You shouldn’t have come here though, you don’t want to get what I’ve got.” 

Larry snorted, “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ve already had a cold this winter, and I only ever get one a year.”

Ben didn’t have the energy to argue on the clearly unscientific basis of his medical opinion. 

Ben was already feeling mildly better, without the cold tiled floor digging into his knees, and attempted to straighten his back, groaning at the aches and pains that it triggered. 

Larry immediately put a hand on his back, digging the heel of his palm in soothing circles at the top of his shoulders and Ben’s entire body sagged back to the bowl as he retched. Larry kept rubbing his back and murmuring vague encouragement at him until he sat back up, frustrated.

“You’ve done this before, then?” he asked Larry.

“You don’t spend four years getting a decent university education without picking up a few tips on how to handle a sorry case such as yourself.” Larry replied.

Ben opened up his mouth to respond and hastily bent over double to deliver the remaining contents of his stomach to the toilet bowl. 

Larry kept the pressure on his back and when he sat upright, passed him some toilet paper. Ben wiped his mouth and thanked him.

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” Larry said simply. 

Ben sat down on his heels, closing the lid of the toilet and flushing. Larry removed his hand from his back and Ben let out a noise of protest as he felt Larry move away and heard his footsteps echoing fainter and fainter down the corridor. He heard a brief sound of rushing water before the footsteps returned.

Ben groaned in relief as he felt one cool flannel placed across the back of his neck, and another pressed to his forehead as Larry held it there. He managed to croak out a broken “Thank you,” and Larry chuckled.

“Not a problem.”

Once Ben was quietly confident that he was done with this particular phase of sickness, he moved to stand up. He was grateful to feel one of Larry’s arms wrap around his waist to help him allocate his weight distribution, and the other slide under his left arm to help him up.

In the mild daze that only comes with fatigue and illness, he stumbled over to the couch with Larry’s help, and laid his head back to rest his eyes. He heard Larry cough and opened his eyes to see the younger man looming over him. 

“What is it?” Ben asked.

“You really can’t go off to sleep like that,” Larry answered.

“Why not,” Ben protested. Not that he particularly wanted to argue, but that asking ‘why’ seemed like the response most likely to let him lie with his eyes closed on the comfortable couch for the longest time possible.

“Because at that angle, you’ll hurt your back and neck, and unless you have a wash, you’re not going to get any better.” Larry responded quickly and succinctly, already reaching his arms underneath Ben’s to lift and manhandle him down the corridor and into the bathroom.

Squeezing some toothpaste onto a brush and handing it to Ben, Larry helped him brush his teeth. He then propped Ben up against the washbasin, which he promptly slid halfway down. 

Larry rolled his shirt sleeves up and started running the bath. Once the hot water had started to run through the tap, Larry put in the plug and stood to face Ben.

Ben’s face was ghostly pale and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, making the blue colour of their irises stand out brilliantly. 

“You look like death,” Larry said plainly. 

Ben ignored the remark, “Why are you doing this for me?”

“Eurovision’s finished and I find myself at a loose end,” Larry responded flippantly.

Ben attempted a shrug with his incredibly uncooperative shoulders and started to unbutton his shirt with fumbling fingers.

“You know you’re even worse than I thought you’d be,” Larry said as he moved to stand in front of Ben and help him with the buttons.

“Well, you didn’t have to come,” Ben replied, then added “But thank you.” 

Ben attempted a weak smile that Larry returned, helping him out of his shirt and lifting off his singlet. 

Feeling the clammy skin under his hands as he helped divest Ben of his clothing, Larry was suddenly very glad he had made the trip to check on him. Ben was most definitely running a fever, and the sooner he was in the water, the sooner it would be possible to regulate his temperature.

“You know you need to keep your fluids up as well,” Larry said without thinking. 

“Yes, mum.” Ben replied. 

“Shut up,” Larry said as he clinically stripped Ben of his trousers and pants, turning to check the water temperature, turn off the taps and help Ben into the bath.

Ben let out a long and deep groan as he entered the tub, the heat penetrating quickly to relax his muscles and warm him to the core. He laid his head back, and it trapped Larry’s hand as he was placing a rolled up towel there to stop Ben having to rest his head on the porcelain.

Larry coughed, and Ben slowly opened his eyes to see Larry’s head a few inches above his own. Larry was resting one hand on the far side of the tub, and clearly only just managing to keep his balance.

Feeling much better for all the care and miraculous restorative powers of a hot bath, Ben grinned up at him.

“Problem?” he asked cheekily.

Larry swallowed reflexively. “You’ve got my hand trapped.”

Ben smirked up at him, “Trapped… or captured.”

“They’re the same thing, Benjamin.” Larry responded, mock exasperatedly. 

“What do I know, Laurence? I’m delirious,” Ben said with a look of mock innocence.

Larry broke first and grinned.

“Very funny, now can I have my hand back so I can wash you properly?” Larry asked.

Ben raised his head with what still looked like some effort and Larry retrieved his hand, moving away to grab a flannel and some soap.

Larry began lathering the soap and methodically washing down Ben’s arms and chest, smiling to himself at the look of blissful contentment on Ben’s face. He kept it up for the length of Ben’s torso and then moved down to wash his thighs, calves and feet, enjoying the soft noises of satisfaction that he was ninety percent sure Ben had no idea he was making.

Larry was so focused on the task at hand that he got a mild shock when he finished and looked up to see Ben looking at him with an intensity he’d never seen before. He had planned to wring out the flannel and help Ben out of the tub to rinse off in the shower, but found himself transfixed as his eyes locked with Ben’s.

Wanting for something to say, Larry found himself croaking out a pathetic, “Hi,” which made him want the ground to swallow him up then and there.

However, it seemed to have provided Ben with some sort of answer as his inscrutable expression turned to one of unadulterated hunger. 

Ben slowly rose from the tub, reaching his left hand out behind Larry’s head to card through his hair, and pull Larry towards him. Larry’s arms hung limp at his sides, until he became so overbalanced that he had to reach out to hold onto the side of the tub to keep himself from falling.

Before Larry knew what was happening, Ben’s lips had met his in a very wet, very messy kiss. Almost immediately, Ben pulled back with a look of horror on his face that made Larry’s heart catch. When the pressure on the back of Larry’s head started to abate as Ben slowly moved his hand away, he was jolted into action.

Pulling himself up alongside the tub closer to where Ben was, he reached his hands out to cup Ben’s face, gently guiding Ben towards him until their lips met. Their lips moved against each other’s in a gentle kiss, then Larry got bolder and opened his mouth to Ben. Ben moaned into his mouth and wrapped both arms around him, using his newly found strength.

Larry could feel the water soaking through his shirt and it was the most amazing feeling. Those strong arms he’d so often seen, and mostly associated with a sense of envy, now wrapped around him, making him feel secure, and wanted.

Larry was the first to break the kiss, bringing both his arms to wrap around Ben, and burying his face in the crook of Ben’s neck. He could feel Ben placing soft little kisses on his shoulder and honestly felt he could die happy, right now. He kissed the bit of neck that was exposed to him and felt a shudder go through Ben.

Shit! Larry pulled back from Ben to look at him, and sure enough, he looked like he was absolutely freezing. Putting his hand in the tub, he felt that the water had already dropped in temperature to something that could only generously be termed ‘luke-warm’, and the ambient temperature of the room was nothing to boast about.

Ben beamed at him, and he couldn’t help but beam back.

“We’ve got to get you into some warm clothes, you’re freezing.” Larry said.

“I’ve got a better idea,” said Ben with a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh yeah?” Larry challenged.

“Three little words,” Ben prompted.

Larry just looked at him.

“Body. Heat. Bed.” Ben grinned at him, before sinking his body back under the water, which was mildly warmer than the outside temperature as Larry raced around the house to find clean sheets to prepare the bed.


End file.
